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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Mini Breakfast Pizzas

This is the most delicious thing I've made in a long time. You see, my parents and Gmom came to town last weekend and insisted on taking us out to eat. My dad wanted to try Acadiana for brunch, which was super delicious. It is a three course affair and everyone (except Mark) had leftovers, which I kept. I was living high off the hog all week. We went out to New Heights and to Eatonville with Mark's parents this weekend and I then was really aching to get back in the kitchen. We had them over for brunch and I was determined to make delicious mini breakfast pizzas for them. My cousin Jessica made a very similar and amazing large breakfast pizza for brunch when we visited her over Christmas and I loved it so much that I can't believe that it took me this long to recreate it. The general idea is that you take the crust, size it out for little pies and top it with whatever breakfast things you like. The egg and the crust cook at the same time and they both come out perfectly. I tried to mimic a real pizza shop oven by cranking mine up up super high to 500 degrees and preheating the baking sheets in there too. That way, when I put the dough on the hot baking sheet, it is kinda like when they slide the pizzas into the really hot oven. They get crispy faster. I prep everything for the assembly process so that I can work really fast once my pans are hot. These pizzas are the perfect balance of crisp crust, gooey cheese, soft yolk, salty bacon, and fresh scallions. They are a must for your next special breakfast or lunch!Mini Breakfast Pizzas (serves 4)Ingredients:1/2 lb. pizza dough1 ball fresh mozzarella3 plump scallions3 slices bacon2-3 Tbs. fresh chives4 eggsolive oilsalt and pepper

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I buy my pizza dough from Vace and I don't care who knows it. You can make your own dough if you like, but I buy mine from the experts and it always turns out perfect.

1. Roll the room temperature dough out on a floured surface so that it makes 4 thin circles that you will use for your pizzas. They should be just a bit smaller than a dinner plate because they will shrink up while they sit and when they cook.

2. Grate the mozzarella. I had a ball of fresh, but you could easily use another cheese. They nice thing about fresh mozzarella here is that it isn't very greasy so you get a nice texture and balance on the pizza without it getting all oily. 3. Finley chop the scallions. 4. Cook the bacon until it is just a little under done and cut it into 1 inch pieces. I just microwave mine on a plate between 2 pieces of paper towel for 3 minutes and called it a day, but you could certainly fry them in a pan. You could also substitute sausage (browned in a pan), mushrooms, or other veggies here instead. 5. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and place 2 large cookie trays into the hot oven while it preheats. When the oven has reached 500, take out the cookie sheets, spray them with non-stick spray, and place the dough onto the sheets. You can see that they seize up when they hit the hot pans.

6. Drizzle them lightly with olive oil (about 1 tsp. each), and sprinkle each with 1/4 of the cheese, bacon, chives, and scallions leaving a well in the center for your egg. 7. Crack each egg into a small bowl and then pour it into the well. Sprinkle the egg with salt and pepper and put the sheet trays into the oven. 8. Allow them to cook in the hot oven for 15-20 minutes until the egg is no longer runny, the cheese is melted, and the crust is beginning to turn very light brown. Look at how beautiful they are. Also, if someone doesn't like their eggs to be runny, they can break the yolk before you put the pizzas into the oven. Enjoy them immediately! I served them with a side of home fries and cantaloupe. Heavenly!